Q&A with Bob Fung,

President and Chief Operating Officer of Owens Design

Lam Research makes semiconductor processing equipment, Seagate makes hard disk drives, and GT AdvancedTechnologies makes solar equipment. But where do all these manufacturers get their customized manufacturing equipment from? That’s where Owens Design comes in. Owens Design is a turnkey outsourcing company that specializes in everything from robotics to software to machine vision, in order to equip its customers with the tools they need to bring their products to life.

We had the pleasure of speaking to Bob Fung, President and COO of Owens Design, to learn more about how stuff gets made in Silicon Valley. Here’s what he had to say about how Owens Design is fueling innovation it the Valley and what’s on the horizon for the advanced manufacturing industry.

City of Fremont: What’s the inspiration and story behind Owens Design?

Bob Fung (BF): It all started with our founder, Bill Owens, and his desire to design and build stuff that would have a greater impact on the rest of the world. Bill began his career in 1980 with Digital Equipment Corporation, a leading vendor of computer systems from the 1960s to the 1990s that designed the first successful commercial minicomputer. In its early stages, the company was focused on getting products out as quickly as possible and helping engineers tackle roadblocks with minimal bureaucracy. Bill later moved to a larger company where he quickly developed two products, but was highly dismayed when both of those products were canceled. That’s when he decided to establish Owens Design where he channeled his energy and passion into equipment development – allowing him to design and develop customized tools and solutions, see them come to life on the factory floor, and ultimately support the creation of new products that make a difference in people’s lives.

Owens Design remains focused on Bill’s passion today. For more than 30 years, we have specialized in designing and creating complex advanced manufacturing systems. We focus on the semiconductor, hard disk drive, solar photovoltaic, medical device, and pharmaceutical industries, and we’ve established a disciplined product development process that allows us to quickly develop mature prototypes. There’s no better feeling than seeing our tools be put to use in our customer’s factories and then seeing those final products come to fruition. At the end of the day, it all comes back to Bill’s original mission: to build stuff that is going to be useful to the world.

City of Fremont: Why did Owens Design choose Fremont as its home?

BF: We originally chose Fremont for its affordable location, accessibility, strong talent pool, and its proximity to our main customers (Apple and Xerox Diablo Systems), as well as the city’s potential for growth.

In 1995, the disk drive industry took off and Owens Design experienced a huge growth spurt. We worked with Prologis to expand to six buildings located in Fremont’s Warm Springs Innovation District. And when the solar industry started picking up steam, Owens Design needed to expand its manufacturing space. We selected Fremont again for its affordable real estate, the availability of talent, its business-friendly climate and its proximity to our customers in Silicon Valley. Fremont is centrally located for our employees who live as far north as San Francisco, as far east as Tracy, as far south as Gilroy and as far west as Santa Cruz. And it’s because of all these reasons that we’re still in Fremont today, more than 30 years later.

City of Fremont: How does the City of Fremont help your business?

BF: We actively work with Fremont’s economic development team to find and connect us to potential partners, suppliers and customers in the Fremont area.

When you’re looking to open up a new factory, the permitting process is typically long, complicated and can often create costly delays. What’s great about the City of Fremont is how hands-on they are. The Fremont team works proactively with our customers to plan and expedite the entire permitting process.

City of Fremont: What are some of the companies you’ve worked with? How have you helped them?

BF: Owens Design works with leaders in high-tech companies, many of which are based in Silicon Valley. In fact, seven of the top ten Silicon Valley semiconductor OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) are our customers. And more than 60 percent of the world’s hard drive media is produced using our equipment. We take great pride in the fact that we have never failed to deliver a new design in over 30 years of business.

The reason why many companies choose to work with us (and become repeat customers) comes down to insurance. They want to go with a “sure thing,” especially when the stakes are high and failure is not an option. Partnering with Owens Design allows our customers to turn out an even better final product, save a great deal of money, save months of time, and maximize return on their valuable intellectual property.

And that’s why we have several big names like KLA-Tencor, Applied Materials, Seagate, GT Advanced Technologies, Lam Research, FEI, Hitachi, and many more on our customer list. We work with lots of smaller names as well, including a number of startups.

City of Fremont: How do you think the digitization of manufacturing is impacting Silicon Valley? Where do you see the advanced manufacturing industry headed in the next 20 years?

BF: Factories are getting “smarter” and more automated as more people are willing to invest in advanced robotics, connected sensors, and advanced digital simulation of manufacturing processes. These advances in technology will lead to shorter production runs, higher quality outputs, and they will enable unit-level customization.

We are currently working with a medical device company that custom molds and 3D prints a portion of each device for individual patients. We have also designed and manufactured flexible robot cells that are easily configurable to run multiple products daily.

Owens Design is poised to help our customers build smarter manufacturing equipment that is capable of supporting “smart” factories. That’s the future of manufacturing.

City of Fremont: What’s the best part about your job?

BF: Whether I’m brainstorming with a colleague or engaging with one of our world-class customers, I work with great people on an everyday basis. I take great pride in the remarkable tools that we create for our customers and I’m grateful that I have a front-row seat in the entire process.